Take one look at the Marvel and DC universes and you’ll see that super villians come
in all shapes, sizes and forms.
And their powers, or lack thereof, vary wildly.
There’s no specific formula or set of abilities that makes you a super villain, friends.
While some rely on their criminal capabilities, others have far more vast and dark abilities
that give them an upper hand when facing off against some of our favourite heroes.
We’re talking magic here, friends.
So today, we’re counting down our picks the top 10 magical super villains.
Let’s get to it.
10 Baron Mordo Baron Mordo has long been an antagonist of
Doctor Strange’s.
First appearing in Strange Tales issue 111 back in 1963, Mordo was a student of the Ancient
One’s back when Strange was studying there.
He tried to kill the Ancient One, which led to him being cast out, and Doctor Strange
eventually becoming the Sorcerer Supreme instead of him.
What are some of the magical things he can do?
He can teleport, astral project, he’s skilled at hypnotism, mesmerism, thought and illusion
casting, force blast projection, magical energy manipulation, he can conjure demons (a favourite
of his) and of course, he’s skilled at martial arts and is a pro when it comes to magical
lore.
9 Felix Faust First appearing in 1962 as an antagonist for
the Justice League, Felix Faust is a sorcerer who dates back beyong 5000 BC, referred to
only as an evil sorceror.
He was banished to another dimension, which wouldn’t be opened until the 1920s by an
aspiring magician who the sorcerer would kill and take over his body.
After reading about Faust from German legends, a man who sold his soul to the devil for supernatural
powers, he decided to take on that name after he did the exact same thing in order to fully
replenish his sorcery abilities.
He’s also pulled some shady sh*t in the past.
At one point, he had kidnapped Isis, keeping her under a powerful sedation spell.
It’s implied he sexually abused her continuously.
Isis manages to signal her husband Black Adam who then rescues her, but before she goes,
she castrates Faust with her bare hands.
8 Morgaine le Fay This version of Morgaine is the one from DC
Comics created by Jack Kirby; Marvel has their own iteration too.
This is because the character is based on the powerful enchantress in the legends of
King Arthur.
First appearing back in The Demon vol 1 issue 1 of 1972, Morgaine le Fay is an ancient sorceress
gifted in the art of black magic.
She is an expert in maleficium and is immortal.
DC weaves her a whole back story, how she was one of the Elder folk who survived the
fall of Atlantis, and manipulated humans, turning them into her lovers, the likes of
Julius Caesar and Uther Pendragon.
She must steal her immortality from other immortals in order to maintain her youth.
But after Merlin the wizard steals her youth and beauty, she goes around wearing a suit
of golden armour to protect her withering body.
Aside from the comics, she’s made a handful of appearances in the DC animated universe,
fighting the likes of the Justice League and Batman.
7 Selene Selene is the black queen of the hellfire
club; an enemy of the X-Men’s.
Created by Chris Claremont and Sal Buscema, Selene first appeared in New Mutants issue
9 back in 1983, and she’s got a whole slew of things she can do.
She’s considered to ‘secretly’ be the very first human mutant, having lived a millennia
long.
She’s often called a psychic vampire since she uses her powers to drain the lives of
others in order to further extend her own life span.
What else can she do?
She’s telepathic, telekinetic, can control and animate fire and non living materials.
She also has an extensive amount of magical expertise.
6 Madelyne Pryor Madelyne Pryor is the clone of Jean Grey.
Yep, things are about to get a little weird.
So, back in the day, before she was introduced in Uncanny X-Men issue 168 back in 1983, Jean
Grey had kicked the can, and Scott, aka Cyclops, was hella upset about it.
Up until Madelyne showed up- a woman who looked exactly like Jean.
So of course, Scott being Scott, decided to get hitched.
The two had a kid, and he even left the X-Men briefly because of it (before becoming a dead
beat dad and leaving them to go back to the team, where he wasn’t even welcomed back
with open arms since Storm was the new leader, who, naturally, he got into a fight with.
She beat him, FYI, and she was also powerless at the time).
ANYWHO, enough of Scott Summers.
Madelyne, while also sharing similar abilities to Jean, has some magic powers up her sleeve.
Demonic eldritch magic activated her long dormant mutant powers, and she could even
teleport over long distances psychokinetically going in and out of the astral plane.
She’s also depicted other mysterious abilities that have been chopped up to the eldritch
magic she used to previous wield.
5 Enchantress (DC) First appearing in Strange Adventures issue
187 back in 1966, June Moone aka Enchantress is one of DC’s most powerful sorceress villains.
She can manipulate magical energy, which allows her to do things like teleport, heal, wall
through walls, and much more.
June is her host, and post New 52, while Enchantress claims June cannot access her magic when she’s
in control, there have been various moments in the comics where June is capable of wielding
magic, like banishing demons.
Recently, she’s become more of an anti hero than a villain, having become a member of
the Suicide Squad and even becoming romantically involved with Killer Croc.
4 Loki Of course Loki would make our list!
The Asgardian god of mischief first appeared in Journey into Mystery issue 85 back in 1962,
created by Jack Kirby, Larry Lieber and Stan Lee.
While he initially started off as a villain, the adopted brother of Thor has gradually
become more of an antihero over the years.
So what can Loki do?
He can shape shift, cast illusions, use energy blasts, astral project, teleport inter-dimensionally,
and of course, he’s a master of manipulation and deceit.
He’s imbued himself with magic abilities that allows him to withstand injuries that
normally would be fatal for an Asgardian, which includes being immune to powers such
as Rogue’s from the X-Men.
That, mixed with his wit and intellect, and Loki is a hell of a lot to handle.
3 Doctor Doom If Stephen Strange were to ever be killed,
it’s quite likely that the title of Sorcerer Supreme would go to Victor Von Doom; this
is something that Strange himself has admitted the villain is capable of, having enough magical
might to do it.
The son of a Romani witch, Victor would inherit his mother’s gifts, which he later amplified
after being taught by Tibetan monks and Morgan le Fay (the Marvel version, who was also briefly
his lover).
With these powers, he can absorb and project energy, manipulate electricity, create shields,
and even summon hordes of demons.
That, combined with his genius level intellect, his scientific knowledge and the fact that
he’s a polymath really makes Doom a threat to be wary of for any superhero.
2 Black Adam Black Adam dates back to the Golden Age of
comics; he first appeared in Fawcett Comics in 1945 back when Shazam was still Captain
Marvel and not owned by DC Comics.
Later, after DC acquired the rights to the Captain Marvel property and eventually renamed
him to Shazam due to legal reasons, Black Adam joined the DC family as well.
So who is Black Adam?
Back in Fawcett days, Black Adam appeared only once as an ancient Egyptian name Teth
Adam who was chosen by the Wizard Shazam to bestow powers onto.
Turns out he’s not as morally pure as the wizard thought, and is banished once he discovers
his powers can’t be revoked.
This story would later be republished in the Bronze Age in Shazam issue 8 in 1973.
Similar to Shazam, Black Adam has been bestowed with powers from ancient Egyptian gods, giving
him unlimited stamina and a godly metabolism, immortality, supernatural speed, super strength,
vast knowledge, the ability to fly and superhuman amounts of inner strength, will power disciple
and resolve, which also renders him resistant to mind based attacks like mind control and
telepathy.
1 Dormammu Dormammu is arguably one of the most powerful
magical super villains out there.
A constant foe for Doctor Strange, Dormammu has been kicking around in Marvel comics since
his debut in 1964 in Strange Tales issue 126, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, but the
character had been mentioned in issues prior.
According to Mike Conroy, I quote, “To Lee and Steve Ditko, the lord of the realm of
darkness and the associate invocations were just another piece of business, another way
of adding depth to the otherworldly nature of Strange’s adventures.
However the readers were intrigued.
They wanted to know more.”
Strange encountered the villain in the Dark Dimension, in which Strange manages to hold
his own, but it isn’t until Dormammu inadvertently weakens a barrier containing a horde of mindless
ones that the big bad needs Strange’s help.
Humiliated, a hatred for Strange festers inside of him.
So why is this ruler of the Dark Dimension such a deadly threat?
He is a threat to the life of the universe itself, composed of mystical energy that can
be used for whatever he desires, including matter manipulation, possession, necromancy,
energy projection, bestowing of power, and creating demons.
There we have it friends!
There’s a ton of magical super villains we didn’t get the chance to talk about this
time around, so if you’d like to see a part two of this list, give us a shout in those
comments below!
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